


rise from your ashes, i’ll be here waiting

by EllaYuki



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon Compliant, Episode Related, Episode: s04e12 Smoke & Mirrors, Feels, M/M, Missing Scene, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Slash, Stiles POV, Wolf Derek, canon character "death"
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-11
Updated: 2017-10-11
Packaged: 2019-01-16 04:26:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12335469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EllaYuki/pseuds/EllaYuki
Summary: derek is dying, and then he isn’t, and quite honestly, it’s making a mess of stiles’ poor heart and nerves.





	rise from your ashes, i’ll be here waiting

this is it.

this is how derek hale dies. human, and in the ruins of some godforsaken town in mexico, and  _because of_   _kate fucking argent,_  and... and stiles is frozen in place.

frozen in place and unable to say anything, to  _do_ anything. his legs won't even carry him closer like they usually do when derek is hurt. he's known this was coming, ever since lydia typed his name, but it never seemed real, never felt real, because whatever happens, the one constant has always been that derek survived deadly blows.

but that was then, that was before a banshee predicted his demise. 

derek tells them that he's fine, that they should  _go find scott_ , and stiles can hear the others leaving, heading for the dilapidated church, but everything feels surreal, and he can't move, he can't even blink.

_derek is **dying.**_

and he's insisting stiles go to scott. he's in so much pain and still he yells at them to go and that's what snaps stiles out of the numbness. he takes a breath, starts to turn, and it's  _difficult_. for probably the first time in his life, it's difficult for him to go save his best friend.

and then, there is a soft, pained, 'hey, hey,' and he turn back to derek, 'save him,' derek says, and it feels like a last request.

he can feel himself nod, just barely, and starts leaving, looking back a few times as he does, because...  _because._

after a few steps, he just. stops, turns around, because he realises that this is most likely the last time he'll ever see derek hale alive and he needs...

he forces himself to turn back around and follow the others into the church.

 

~

 

scott is alright, kira, too. they all are, and peter has been dealt with. now the only problem left is kate, and the pack make their way out of the ruined church.

stiles lags behind, tells himself it's because he's the squishy human that can be easily made into shishkebab if they're attacked the moment they step foot out, but really, the truth is he doesn't want to  _see_.

he can hear scott saying something about heartbeats, about how there seem to be a lot of people outside, but it doesn't really register as it should, as it normally would. they step out, just as a wolf howl echoes breathtakingly through the ruined town. stiles' heart goes into overdrive, because _what now?_

they stop, and stiles forces himself to look at where derek was lying crumpled and bleeding.

there's... no body. there's nothing more than a dark pool of dried blood. stiles's breath catches in his chest.

there's another howl, and this time, from behind the van, a big, black wolf appears, and all the weres surrounding stiles are immediately on alert, on the defensive.

the wolf's eyes glow blue and stiles feels the bottom of the world fall from right under him, because-

'derek?' he whispers, and scott's head immediately snaps to him and then back to the wolf. he sniffs the air and tilts his head as though he's listening to something, and asks 'derek?' in a tone more incredulous than stiles' own. 'wha-? how?'

braeden and parrish appear, too, the mercenary carrying what look like jeans and a shirt which she deposits on a chest-high file of rocks and rubble a few feet to the group's left. 

the wolf trots behind them and, after a couple of seconds, they can see derek's back rising, black fur disappearing until only his skin and tattoo are left. when he's standing up straight, he cracks his neck to one side, and then the other, like he's trying to get rid of particularly nasty kink, and starts getting dressed. he only turns to face them once he's decent.

stiles can feel his heart pounding in his ears because this... he's... derek's supposed to be  _dead_ , he was  _dying_ , lydia predicted it, so  _how_...

scott steps forward, goes in for a hug that derek welcomes, and it's like the world tilts back on its axis.

lydia was wrong. for once, her banshee senses were  _wrong_. a surge of relief so strong overwhelms stiles that he has to lean against the wall of the church because his legs won't hold him up anymore.

_derek is **alive**._

he's alive, and so is scott, and so is kira, and the rest of them, they're all alright, and alive, and.

he slides down until he's sitting, and a breathless, almost hysterical laughter escapes his throat.

he can hear malia asking him what's wrong, he see liam giving him a semi-terrified look, and scott's approaching like he might spook stiles if he makes a sudden move, but stiles keeps on laughing because they're all alive.

'stiles,' he hears, and there are bare feet in front of him. he looks up and derek's holding a hand out in front of stiles's face. finally, the hysterics die down, but there's still a huge grin on stiles' face and he's panting. for a long moment, they just look at each other. then, stiles grips derek's offered hand and lets himself be pulled to his feet.

'you're still alive,' he says, and if he's still breathless, he tells himself it's because of the laughter. 'you're still alive, and you have your eyes back, and  _dude_ , now you can  _turn into a wolf?!'_

derek smiles, small, barely there, but he does. 'can't get rid of me that easily,' he jokes. and wow, okay, that's. yeah. stiles can't handle that for some reason.

once he's sure stiles has got his balance back, derek claps him on the shoulder and turns to the rest of the group. he looks sheepish but proud. 'and yeah,' he says, 'got a bit of an upgrade.'

and there’s something about the way he says it, not only proud, but sort of… happy? that finally unravels the vice from around stiles’ lungs.

and finally,  _freakin’ finally,_  he can relax and indulge in the sweet, sweet relief that washes over him.

**Author's Note:**

> i love the idea of derek turning back into a wolf after he destroys the berserker and kate escapes, just to see how it feels again and also because nakedness and too many people around, and the gang being faced with a big, hulking wolf first thing upon getting out of the church, so this happened.


End file.
